Help with Guarantor information for student rental agreement for private housing

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My ds is probably going to share a house with other students next year and we are going to act as guarantors for him. We have been asked to fill out a form, with salary ( fine), employer (fine) bank account details ??, and next of kin??? Has anybody had to fill this much info out ??? And why do they need bank details, we have said we will pay rent on one lump sum at the beginning of tenancy. Anbody else filled out these forms and is what they are asking for normal procedure?

It has become standard with lots of rental agreements that are through letting agents. They tell you that they are working out if you can afford the rent. This is rubbish as there is no way they can know what debts you have or other payments each month. We refused to fill them in and spoke to the landlord direct and offered a larger deposit, which in the end they said they didn't need. They may be covering themselves for future damages but no-one needs to know all this stuff about you and you would be surprised how manyh people just hand it over. I would talk to them and tell them that you willnot give all that info and ask to speakt to the landlord if it is a problem. Good luck

PS make sure the deposit goes into a protected bond so you know you can get it back - plenty of sharks around who keep it especially on student lets

We weren't asked to act as guarantor for DS, although I know that the housemates are all responsible for any debt occurred by any of them.

Thanks. You are right it is a letting agent that uses an external company... they even want next of kin details !!! and will hand the details on to debt recovery companies if need be. We would pay all the rent up front , but had not considered increasing the deposit, I might look into that and speaking to the landlord direct.

Are you sure you are just acting as a guarantor for him, not the whole flat? We have paid DS's rent by standing order for the last two years so they have obviously had all our bank details etc. Think we also paid a hefty deposit last year but this year one of the other parents paid I think. Be prepared for fines for white tac etc. etc. etc. worth checking the inventory and taking photos when they move in.

This is the email correspondence that i got from the agent...

However we will still need to proceed with referencing and for you to sign a Guarantor agreement. This is due to the fact that as a Guarantor you are not just covering the rent, you will be acting as Guarantor for the entire tenancy which includes full responsibility within the property; adhering to the terms and conditions outlined in the contract, any unpaid utility bills, any damage caused and anything in relation to the deposit.

Do you think that we are covering the others as well then ????

Best thing would be to try and speak to the landlord. A good one would require a guarantor from every housemate, although I don't remember my parents bank details being required.

Also, I second checking how and where this money will be held. Good landlords will use a rent deposit scheme, which provides protection for both landlord and tenant in case of any dispute. Our uses mydeposits

DH refused to sign up for unlimited liabilty on DS's contract. Struck it through and initialised it.
Also made sure that we were not guaranteeing the rent for any / all of the other 6 boys.
Don't really remember this with DS1
Landlord told DS that it was the agency wanting all the crap on the contract, not him.
Just be aware that you aren't signing your life or more ££££s than you are expecting.

hmmm I am going to phone the agent on mon to see what they say. thanks all will update when i have more info.

Also, get DS to check if his uni offers a Contract Reading service. We were offered one by both the accommodation services and the Student's Union, where someone with a bit more know-how reads through the contract to check it's all up to scratch and contains everything it should. Was a big reassurance to know ours had been okayed by someone who understood the process.

Also, beware the agent/landlord fobbing you off or being dismissive. How they deal with enquiries now is how they'll deal with them once they're living in the house.

Thanks edu. Well i spoke to the agent and asked if i could speak to the landlord and I was told that they do not normally supply thesed details. I then asked them to forward my details to the landlord and am waiting to see what happens. Apparently you have to go through a credit check with Maras to be accepted. Anybody been checked by them and have any experience ?

I've had to do this for DD2, but she's under 18.